England cricket board unhappy with India tour itinerary

Mumbai, July 14 (ANI): England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) representatives have reportedly expressed disappointment over Mumbai’’s Brabourne Stadium being used to host their first Test match against India in November and December. The stadium has not been used for 35 years, and the proposed itinerary includes seven one-day internationals and two Tests. The Brabourne experience has not pleased England’’s representatives. A statement read: “The ECB are disappointed that, despite their representations, the itinerary doesn”t offer the thousands of supporters who follow the England team abroad, the opportunity to experience more of the great cricket grounds of India.” Instead of a tour that takes in such stadia as Eden Gardens in Kolkata and the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, England will reprise their 2005-06 experience with trips to venues such as Jamshedpur and Guwahati in the far east of the country, where their one-day international had to be abandoned due to rioting in the stands. With that in mind, the ECB are still reluctant to commit to the itinerary. “As far as the ECB are concerned the acceptance of the itinerary remains subject to acceptable logistical arrangements and an acceptable security environment, and security arrangements being in place at each of the venues,” the Cricinfo website quoted the statement, as saying. England were the last visiting team to play a Test at the Brabourne Stadium, back in 1973. A dispute over tickets between the MCA and the CCI led to the birth of the Wankhede Stadium nearby, which held its first Test in 1975. Brabourne hosted three one-day internationals between 1989 and 1995, before playing host to five ICC Champions Trophy games eleven years later. The last international match played there was a one-off Twenty20 international between India and Australia last year. Proposed itinerary November 6, 2008 England arrive in Mumbai November 9 One-day warm-up match, Mumbai November 11 One-day warm-up match, Mumbai November 14 1st ODI v India, Rajkot November 17 2nd ODI v India, Indore November 20 3rd ODI v India, Kanpur November 23 4th ODI v India, Jamshedpur November 26 5th ODI v India, Cuttack November 29 6th ODI v India, Guwahati December 2 7th ODI v India, Delhi December 5-7 Three-day warm-up match, Baroda December 11-15 1st Test v India, Ahmedabad December 19-23 2nd Test v India, CCI Mumbai (ANI)